As is well known with serious fires and explosions, many lifes have been unnecessarily lost merely because there was an inadequate escape exit available immediately to exit a large number of people. Various devices relating generally to escape means have been shown in the prior art, such as:
______________________________________ Inventor Patent Number ______________________________________ Burnette 3,120,032 Gilbert 3,445,963 Coulter 3,777,423 Zawadzki 3,854,763 Kinney 3,861,739 Coulter 3,905,063 Lirette 4,005,886 ______________________________________
None of these patents, however, provides a massive opening for the escape, in a brief time, of a large number of people as has been necessary in places where there are large gatherings such as nightclubs, meeting halls, auditoriums and stadiums. Although such facilities frequently have a multiplicity of exits, when immediate evacuation is essential, the people pile up at the doors where a funneling effect occurs. Such a funneling effect resulting in the trampling of people and in the inability of at least some of the people to escape.
Particularly in nightclubs and auditoriums, one reason why further exits are not provided is to avoid the loss of valuable wall space.
A satisfactory solution to the need for the immediate evacuation of a large number of persons has not been satisfactorily resolved until the emergence of the instant invention.